The first question is intentionally broad. We want to give you the option to pick something from either your personal or professional life. The context (personal or professional) is less important than your reason for being proud of something. We want to understand what makes something important to you. It gives us a glimpse into how you think about and process things, and what your priorities and values are.

This is how we assess fit – through alignment of your values with the values of our community – not whether you pick a personal or professional example.

The main purpose of the career path question is so we can evaluate whether business school makes sense. A “good” answer isn’t about saying you want to go into a traditional business field. In fact, many of our students pursue a wide range of careers outside of traditional business fields (e.g., education, nonprofit, emerging markets). A good answer will describe your rationale for being interested in a particular path.

For both questions, there isn’t an answer that we “want to hear” other than a response that demonstrates that you’ve done some self-reflection and gives us a sense of you as a person.

A note about writing style: we like clear and succinct. “Up to 400 words” means it can be less than 400 words. It’s not a word count test, nor is it a creative writing test. Don’t write two paragraphs of introduction before stating what you’re most proud of. You can even start with, “I am most proud of….” Write as you would speak. To a real person. We, who read the essays, are real people.

Other Application Support Resources

Tips from the Top: Ross Admissions Webinar

Join the admissions team for a webinar on Monday, June 15 from 12:00-1:00 pm EST.

We’ll briefly highlight what differentiates Ross and provide a step-by-step overview of how to navigate the admissions process - from which round to apply to whether to visit campus to whether to retake the GMAT and other top of mind questions.

Meet Ross Students This Summer

Ross students are scattered across the globe for their summer internships and they’re eager to share their Ross experiences with you through Café Chats - our informal meet-ups. Locations are updated on an ongoing basis so check back often to find one near you.